BRUNSWICK

Operators of the Brunswick Explorer have raised a little more than half of the additional $90,000 they need to continue the local carrier after October.

Rockland-based Coastal Trans faces the funding gap after losing federal stimulus funds that once paid for about 84 percent of the buses’ operation.

Now in its fourth year, funding — which initially came from the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Act — lapsed into a Rural Transportation Subsidy fund, where its subsidy was cut by $40,000.

So, instead of budgeting $50,000 for its local share, Coastal Trans now must raise $90,000.

So far, $54,000 has been secured.

Even facing a shortfall, bus system officials said they want to expand the system: Additional stops at Southern Maine Community College’s Brunswick Landing campus are under consideration.

“We’d like to do it,” Coastal Trans Executive Director Lee Karker said, “but we just have to make sure it’s viable and that there’s room in the schedule.”

He expects a decision on new Brunswick Landing service to be reached by the end of the month, in time for the start of classes at SMCC-Midcoast.

To stay afloat, the system has asked its largest donors to increase their annual contributions. The town of Brunswick, Bowdoin College, Brunswick Housing Authority, Mid Coast Hospital, Sweetser and United Way of Mid Coast Maine are the bus route’s principle benefactors.

“While we still need to raise more funds, we are pleased that Brunswick businesses and other organizations understand the value of this community resource and are helping to support the Brunswick Explorer financially,” Karker said.

Brunswick has agreed to increase its funding by $3,500 — a pledge that recently survived the budget ax as the town faced a $316,000 shortfall from cuts in state revenue sharing.

The Brunswick Emplorer operates weekdays, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., usually carrying about 120 riders each day. As of June, the bus was projected to carry about 33,000 riders in all of 2013.

Fares are $1 per ride; $2 for an all-day pass.

Stops include town shopping centers, medical complexes, entertainment facilities, the downtown business district and the Bowdoin College campus.

“After only three years, it is hard to imagine a time when the Explorer was not an integral part of Brunswick,” Karker said.

jtleonard@timesrecord.com

Brunswick Explorer

¦ PRIVATE donations are accepted to help defray the bus route’s operating costs. Checks can be sent to Brunswick Explorer, 16 Station Ave., Suite 107, Brunswick, ME 04011 or by calling 596-6477.

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